Digitalizing Behavioral Insights to Deliver Customized Experiences by Hugh Massie, DNA Behavior
• 87% of measurable business issues are communication-related caused by behavioral differences
• Intuition has been proven to be 28% accurate resulting in misconnection
• Great salespeople only connect with 40% of advisors leaving a 60% potential loss of opportunity
• Ongoing validated scientific research addresses behavioral diversity and variability with behavioral finance
• Digitalizing behavioral insights enables the delivery of customized experiences at scale
• “Behavior Chip” tech embedded in workflows puts insights at the fingertips of the sales and marketing teams
• Leads to behaviorally smart sales engagement & personalized experiences for salespeople, advisors and clients
Distribution Intelligence: The Next Chapter by Scott Kasper, Olmstead Associates
• A panel discussed aspects of an Olmstead Distribution Intelligence study which explored best practices of implementing and managing Distribution Intelligence practices
• Key findings: It is no longer a question of if firms should pursue effective distribution intelligence. Data wrangling remains a challenge and ROI measures are elusive, but centralizing data and developing a business culture that supports the use of information is key
• Next steps: Examine your operating model to understand strengths and weaknesses of the applications in place and the system architecture that governs the data management
Rethinking Distribution: Leveraging Analytics, Marketing, and New Approaches to Sales by Lee Kowarski, SS&C
• Customer Knowledge is More Critical Than Ever
• Asset Managers are Prioritizing Data-Driven Initiatives to Enable Better Customer Experiences
• Distribution Success Depends on 3 Key Factors: optimizing relationships with buyers, optimizing internal resources, optimizing tools and frameworks needed to support the strategy
CDP in Asset Management: Myth and Reality by Marianne Hewitt, Growth Strategy Group
• The CDP Institute was discussed as a vendor-neutral organization to educate marketers and technologists about CDPs and they conducted a survey with SME Forum members (cdpinstitute.org)
• Survey revealed that asset managers have prioritized Customer Experience (which is dependent on having high-quality data) as a close second priority to operational efficiencies
• Asset management marketing and distribution are evolving into data-driven cultures
• While Asset Managers have been behind the broader cross-industry population in their data maturity and implementing CDPs, Asset Management is ahead of the curve in implementing CDPs in the next 12-24 months
• CDPs are a centralized data store that will:
• collect data from all sources including CRM, website, mobile apps, and third parties
• provide powerful identity matching and management
• deliver customer profiles to other systems in real-time
Breakout Session Topics Included:
• B/D Data Packs and Third-Party Data Integration
• Establishing Sales Activity Benchmarking
• Implementing Customer Data Programs in Asset Management
• Emerging Technologies in Relationship Management
• Developing Next-Best-Actions Capabilities
• Defending and Promoting Tech Investment
• Impact of Third-Party Service Augmentation on Operations
The SME Forum’s greatest value seems to be two-fold:
First, in its clear focus on thorough, deep dives into the proverbial “nuts and bolts” of the infrastructure of the industry and actively exploring how it can better operate by integrating new thinking and technology across the enterprise to meet major challenges and goals.
Second, its success as an effective engagement mechanism for open, honest discussion that channels these challenges and potential solutions into strategy and mission. It ensures that members experience new learning, gain introductions to build their industry networks of support, and provide insights that members can share with their teams and across their organizations to support firm goals and objectives.
The message for me as I sat through the Fall Forum was realizing the massive nature and scope of the transformation going on in the asset management industry. This positions the SME Forum, in my mind, as taking its place among other top asset management conferences like the Investment Company Institute, the Money Management Institute, NICSA, and the MFEA, but with an intensely practical execution focus on marketing, sales/distribution, operations, and technology. This position calls for keeping an eye on the topics and discussions going on at their Forums. For full disclosure, I plan on the Institute and the SME Forum becoming strategic partners and regularly attending their events to keep informed and be better able to report on the evolution and innovation happening in the asset management industry and how it is redirecting strategy and sales/marketing execution.
The Institute for Innovation Development is an educational and business development catalyst for growth-oriented financial advisors and financial services firms determined to lead their businesses in an operating environment of accelerating business and cultural change. We operate as a business innovation platform and educational resource with FinTech and financial services firm members to openly share their unique perspectives and activities. The goal is to build awareness and stimulate open thought leadership discussions on new or evolving industry approaches and thinking to facilitate next-generation growth, differentiation and unique community engagement strategies. The institute was launched with the support and foresight of our founding sponsors — Ultimus Fund Solutions, NASDAQ, FLX Networks, Advisorpedia, Pershing, Fidelity, Voya Financial and Charter Financial Publishing (publisher of Financial Advisor and Private Wealth magazines).